Gunfire and explosions have been ringing out this morning from Burma’s border town of Myawaddy after key administrative and military positions were yesterday taken by a Karen army faction.

Burmese soldiers launched an assault on Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops, and fighting continues at the time of writing. This morning a grenade landed across the border in Thailand’s Mae Sot, reportedly kiling one and leaving three injured. The main road in Mae Sot that leads to the border has been closed.

“The fighting is really intense now – about five or six people have been killed from heavy weapons’ fire,” said a Myawaddy resident. “We heard the DKBA troops are entering Myawaddy town through Ward 5 [close to the Moei river].”

Reports are emerging that two trishaw drivers close to the Myawaddy market were also killed in the crossfire.

Many locals are said to be fleeing into Thailand after hearing rumours that Burmese troops were recruiting civilians to fight.

“The Burmese army is recruiting porters in our area. We are preparing to flee as there are only male in our family,” said one woman. “My husband said he saw two people hit by an [artillery] shell. He wasn’t sure whether they died or not.”

The News:
http://www.dvb.no/ne … in-border-town/12689

Two soldiers of the Burmese Army were killed and three injured, while carrying ballot boxes from Taung Suan to Chaung Sone village, when they were ambushed by members of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) at 10:40 am on October 26.

The KNLA battalion No. 16 ambushed the column, which had 60 soldiers from LIB 405 under the MOC 8, led by Lt. Col. Myo Myint Aung. The column carrying ballot boxes for the elections on November 7 was attacked between Ar Palone and Hlaing Thayar village.

“The KNLA battalion No. 16 confirmed that two soldiers of the Burmese Army were killed and three injured. We often attack them, when they patrol this area, if we get a chance. I heard there was another gun battle on October 26 morning. We don’t have the exact information on causalities,” Maj. Saw Htel Nay from KNLA battalion No. 16 told KIC.

Though KNLA confirmed that five Burmese Army soldiers were injured in this attack, a Kyar Inn Seik Gyi local said nine soldiers were wounded.

The News:
http://www.bnionline … in-knla-ambush-.html

Nato says its forces in Afghanistan have killed at least 19 Taliban fighters who tried to storm a combat outpost under cover of darkness.

The attack happened at a base in Paktika province, bordering Pakistan.

The militants are reported to have attacked from all directions, using rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai has criticised the first joint operation by Russian and US agents to destroy drug laboratories in Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai said Thursday’s raid had taken place without his government’s permission and was a clear violation of Afghan sovereignty.

A Russian official said about 70 military personnel and counter-narcotics agents were involved, and that they had destroyed a “major hub” about 5km (three miles) from the Pakistani border, near Jalalabad.

The News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk … -south-asia-11657981

Armenia and Azerbaijan can come to an agreement on the principles of Nagorno-Karabakh issue settlement before the OSCE summit scheduled for December, reported Russian President Dmitri Medvedev who was the mediator of the October 27 meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“The issue of the settlement principles is yet to be solved to later become the basis of the peace treaty. Nevertheless, we have come a long way which gives a good ground for hope that if the sides work efficiently during this month, basic principles of settlement could be reconciled before the OSCE summit in Kazakhstan on December 1-2,” says Medvedev.

The main practical and political outcome of the Astrakhan meeting has become the agreement between the two presidents to exchange war prisoners.

“The parties have agreed on a joint statement, which is of humanitarian character but is a very important one. It is a special declaration providing for immediate exchange of war prisoners and bodies of those who died [in recent skirmishes on the line of contact] as confidence-building measures,” said Medvedev.

The News:
http://www.armeniano … nt_meeting_astrakhan

Russian troops pulled back from a small village of Perevi at the western part of administrative border of breakaway South Ossetian on Monday evening.

Georgia said the withdrawal was “a step made in the right direction.”

“The de-occupation of each village is of outmost importance for Georgia and especially for the population residing in those villages,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on October 18.

“However, it should be emphasized that the withdrawal of Russian occupational forces from Perevi is just a miniscule step in comparison with commitments envisaged by the ceasefire agreement of August 12 2008 which Russia still has to comply with,” it said.

The News:
http://www.geotimes. … ?m=home&newsid=22940